His son told him high school soccer would be good for him, but former college coach Adam Christodoulou took a more wait-and-see approach.
Christodoulou was content enough in just playing retiree after relocating to the Big Island in late 2020, so he wasn’t just going to jump back in to coaching unless the job was right.
The Hawaii Prep boys position usually fits the bill.
“I’m loving it,” he said.
He’ll love it even more when Ka Makani actually get to play a match, and – fingers crossed – the first one will come Monday afternoon at Honokaa (2-0). The five-time, division-jumping BIIF champion’s first two matches were postponed by COVID-19 protocols, and even full-team practices were scarce until this past week.
“They’ve been raring to go,” Christodoulou said. “You can just see their heads drop” when matches get canceled. “If Monday’s game gets canceled, I don’t know how I’m going to keep them up. They are chomping at the bit.”
Born in England, Christodoulou got into coaching at the youth level in California, progressing all the way to the NAIA ranks at Cal State Maritime, where he coached for seven seasons. He replaces James Berry, who took over in 2019 and guided HPA to a second consecutive BIIF D-I title.
After Ka Makani moved back down to D-II in 2020, they won the HHSAA D-II title for the third try in a row. Under Rich Braithwaite in 2018, HPA shared the state D-I title with Maui’s Baldwin High, landmark accomplishments for non-Oahu schools.
Clearly, amassing talent and surviving change haven’t been a problem anytime of late in Waimea. This year’s Ka Makani are spearheaded by 10 seniors who have helped the team pick up Christodoulou’s system.
“We want to keep possession in dangerous areas,” he said. “We want to exploit areas and make our oppositions defend them.”
To accomplish that, Christodoulou said he’s “spoiled” to have a wealth of players up top who specialize in putting the ball in the back of the net.
Just to name three: seniors Aidan Santos and Mason Hunt and junior Nate Lawton.
Santos, a senior, epitomizes HPA’s “chomping at the bit” mentality these days. He was an impact player for Waiakea as a freshman in 2019, and he sat out his sophomore season due a transfer rule before everyone sat out BIIF soccer last season because of the pandemic.
Senior Jordan Hanano is co-captain and will help patrol the back line in front of goalkeeper Logan Waiau.
“Everything I’ve asked them to do that is new, they get it. They pick it up,” he said. “They were very well-coached prior to me getting here.”
Depth, especially beyond the 10 seniors, could be an issue, Christodoulou said, and HPA won’t have the services of one of its best security blankets from 2020, Noah Condon. An all-BIIF fullback as a freshman, Condon is a captain but won’t play this season as he recovers from an ACL injury.
“That’s a big miss,” said Christodoulou, whose roster of 26 includes promising young players.
Freshmen Kena Craven, an attacking midfielder, and Alika Puckett, a fullback, are “the future of the program,” he said.
For the present, HPA just wants to play.
“Let’s get this season going,” Christodoulou said. “It’s palpable.”